From the prison camps in the Philippines and
Japan to the cities and towns of New Mexico,
the soldiers and their families survived.
The soldiers strengthened by their common
identity as New Mexicans, survived by
reminding each other of their families,
friends, and common experiences back home.

The prisoner on the right has the
name “Leo” written underneath, and the fellow in
front of him, “Gap”. Leo, is the 200th's Leo
Padilla, and Gap is the 515th's Agapito Silva. Mr.
Padilla would be shipped to Hoten POW camp in
Manchuria, and Mr. Silva would wind up at Fukuoka Camp
17 in Omuta, Japan. Both men were instrumental in
the building of the new Bataan Monument at Bataan
Memorial Park in Albuquerque, dedicated 60 years
after the fall of Bataan in 2002, in memory of their
comrades.